logically, decisively, truthfully
by Ice of the Kitsune's Fire
Summary: Inaho character study. She has taken up a space in the cavity of his chest, nestled next to his sister, and he thinks this in his heart: I will not let her die.


A/N: Inaho's mind is a difficult place to get into. He's ridiculously logical and practical, and seems to only show emotion in small segments at a time. Still, he is human, and he cares.

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Inaho knows he is not like most people. Ironically, he does not understand why other people do not think like he does. But he accepts it as fact: other people are ruled by emotion and do illogical things regularly. Emotion blinds them to all else in some cases. It is not necessarily a bad trait; Inaho just thinks that it is a risky one.

Inaho is not an exception to these cases, but he knows he values logic more than others. Numbers and logic make _sense_ , in a way that he has never been able to properly articulate to others. He sees two plus two equals four, and from there it is just physics application to connect ricocheting bullets with the Leidenfrost effect. And once he understands something, he can find a solution.

Everyone acts as if this makes him exceptional; he thinks this is strange. He theorizes that this is because most people do not understand physics as well as he does – the bits of brain that he uses to calculate bullet trajectories, he supposes, are used by others to laugh and socialize.

His sister used to sigh about this part of him all the time. She'd lament his lack of attention to his surroundings, accusing him of being too absorbed in a book, or in the texture of his eggs – anything, really, that he was fixated on at the time. It's a habit of his. He gets into a subject and he stays on it, whittling through its obscurity until he can comprehend all components of it.

The war changed things, though. After Okisuke died, Inaho had to focus. Okisuke had died because no one was prepared for the consequences of war; people had been complacent, and others died as a result. So Inaho went and prepared himself, analyzed the enemy, and came up with plans that kept him and his friends alive. And in this way, Inaho grows up and exacts revenge upon his friend's killer.

It would be better if there weren't a need for him to do so, but if anything, Inaho is practical. He knows that there are legitimate reasons for Vers to declare war; he just thinks that there are better ways of negotiating. War is a form of negotiation, but it is a costly one.

He holds an unpopular view, thinking of the war in these terms. Most like to think of the conflict in an incendiary way, they are confused when they hear his neutral stance on the situation. He has heard some claim that he has no real emotion, and that is why he can speak of the war and its causes without hating the Versian people.

They are wrong again on this. He does feel emotions; he just does not express them much, and perhaps not in ways that people expect, though they make perfect sense to him.

He is drawn to Seylum from the beginning. She had pinned him down within moments of meeting him, and asked for the information she needed. He admires that; most people are not as forward in their intentions. His regard increased when he discovered that she was the reportedly deceased Versian princess, Asseylum Vers Allusia.

A princess has great utility, she has the power to stall or start a war. Seylum wishes for peace, and he recognizes her as a valuable ally in this aspect. But it is her kind nature that pulls him in, as she prepares to put herself in the line of fire to save others that she has no relation to. She values the safety of others over her own life, is ready to sacrifice herself for it, and this inspires him to do battle with the Martian kataphrakts again and again. He goes into battle because he knows he can keep her and the others safe by himself – maybe. She makes him a little reckless. He does not mind.

His sister makes him concerned as well; he wins battles decisively because doing so will reduce the danger she is exposed to as a soldier. This is the only thing he can do for her. The sooner the war is over, the happier he will be.

But things are complicated. The princess that calls out orders from the moon base is not Seylum; the person speaking is an imposter. His data from his analytical engine suggests this to be true. When the UFE calls an attack on the moon base, he knows that there is more going on behind the scene – and he is correct. An assassination is in the works.

It is not wise to disobey his commanding officer, but it is also unthinkable for him to sit back and allow the forces to destroy Seylum. She is valuable, she has far more utility alive than dead, and the quick thumping in his chest tells him that he wants her safe, wants her near. When he finally sees her, relief flows up in him: he is not too late, she is still alive.

She has taken up a space in the cavity of his chest, nestled next to his sister, and he thinks this in his heart: _I will not let her die_. She is a part of him now, embedded in the substance of him that warms whenever he spies seagulls, just like the part of him that brings his sister's good luck charms with him to battle. His lips tilt up in what could almost be called a smile.

In this moment, they are with him, and he is complete.

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A/N: Critique welcome. Let me know what you think of the characterization.


End file.
